The last decade has seen an impressive growth in alkaline earth metal chemistry, with applications ranging from synthetic organic and polymer chemistry to materials science. As a consequence, alkaline earth metal chemistry has made a leap from obscurity into the spotlight of modern organometallic chemistry. Much of this rapid development was made possible by the establishment of novel synthetic procedures that allowed facile access to the target compounds, as many conventional synthetic routes posed and continue to pose significant limitations. Novel approaches have allowed the preparation of a multitude of compounds, initiating progress not thought possible just five years ago. Examination of the new compounds delineates several factors responsible for their structure and function. Key elements in the coordination, aggregation behavior, and reactivity of these systems have been linked to secondary interactions, including M-Cpi, M-Npi, M-F, and M-H(agostic) interactions. This feature article will provide a very brief overview of established synthetic procedures, including a brief discussion on specific shortcomings. This will be followed by a detailed presentation of novel methodologies that are the core of the rapid development of alkaline earth metal chemistry. The second part of the article will be concerned with the analysis of various secondary interactions and their role in the further development of this rapidly emerging field of chemistry.


BACKGROUND
A large amount of data indicates that seafarers are at risk for asbestos disease.

OBJECTIVES
To trace the outlines of pleural mesothelioma among seafarers.

METHODS
Pleural mesotheliomas diagnosed among seamen in the Trieste-Monfalcone area, Italy, in the period 1973-2003, were reviewed.

RESULTS
The series comprised 50 men aged between 53 and 91 years (mean age 75.7 years). The diagnosis of mesothelioma was confirmed by necropsy in 38 cases. The patients had served in the Italian Navy (24 persons), in the merchant navy (17 persons), or in both (9 persons). The trades were various including engine room as well as deck personnel. Asbestos bodies were detected on routine lung sections in 55% of the necropsy cases. Asbestos bodies isolated from the lungs in three cases ranged between 2100 and 7000 bodies per gram of dried tissue. Latency periods ranged between 33 and 72 years (mean 56.1 years).

CONCLUSIONS
When compared with shipyard workers, the seamen with mesothelioma show signs of less intense exposure to asbestos, and longer latency periods. Mesothelioma in seamen should be considered as an occupational disease.


This work revisits precomputation prefetching targeting long access latency loads with access patterns that are hard to predict. It presents Ekivolos, a precomputation prefetcher system that automatically builds prefetching slices that contain enough control flow instructions to faithfully and autonomously recreate the program's access behavior without inducing monitoring and execution overhead on the main thread. Ekivolos departs from the traditional notion of creating optimized short slices. In contrast, it shows that even longer slices can run ahead of the main thread and perform useful prefetches as long as they are sufficiently accurate. Ekivolos operates on arbitrary application binaries and takes advantage of the observed execution paths in creating its slices. On a set of emerging workloads Ekivolos outperforms three state-of-the-art hardware prefetchers and previously proposed precomputation-based prefetchers.


Nineteen years ago Richard Smith looked at the NHS in Dumfries and Galloway, in Scotland, and concluded that it worked well.1 Ten years ago things weren't so good.2 And now …

The long view of the NHS in Dumfries and Galloway, in Scotland, might be summarised as more staff, bigger and better buildings, more technology, and more activity but failure to keep up with rising demand and expectations from both patients and politicians. The result is a sense of strain and even disappointment. The unwritten contract, whereby doctors and other clinicians work long hours and take great responsibility in a perhaps patrician way in return for respect and considerable freedom, seems to be changing to one in which they are more tightly managed and less respected, and, as a result, they may be less willing to give their all. As one retired consultant put it: "The doctors no longer own the system."

#### Summary points

Compared with 20 years ago, the NHS in Dumfries and Galloway has more staff, better buildings, and uses new technology, but staff feel they can never keep up with the expectations of patients and politicians.

Initiatives from on high, such as the internal market, may come and go without making much difference on the ground.

A new maternity hospital is about to be built through the private finance initiative.

Telemedicine may have an essential role in such a large but sparsely populated district.

Information technology is way behind the times.

Nurses are fed up, doctors much less so.

Patients are steadily becoming much more influential.

The battle over how best to organise surgical services in Stranraer, which is two hours by road from Dumfries, continues and preoccupies many in the health service.

Three issues seemed to come up in almost every conversation I had in the …


Mason type III fractures of the radial head are treated by open reduction and internal fixation, resection or prosthetic joint replacement. When internal fixation is performed, fixation of the radial head to the shaft is difficult and implant-related complications are common. Furthermore, problems of devascularisation of the radial head can result from fixation of the plate to the radial neck. In a small retrospective study, the treatment of Mason type III fractures with fixation of the radial neck in 13 cases (group 2) was compared with 12 cases where no fixation was performed (group 1). The mean clinical and radiological follow-up was four years (1 to 9). The Broberg-Morrey index showed excellent results in both groups. Degenerative radiological changes were seen more frequently in group 2, and removal of the implant was necessary in seven of 13 cases. Post-operative evaluation of these two different techniques revealed similar ranges of movement and functional scores. We propose that anatomical reconstruction of the radial head without metalwork fixation to the neck is preferable, and the outcome is the same as that achieved with the conventional technique. In addition degenerative changes of the elbow joint may develop less frequently, and implant removal is not necessary.


Abstract Beryllium is a quintessential upper crustal element, being enriched in the upper crust by a factor of 30 relative to primitive mantle, 2.1 vs. 0.07 ppm. Most of the 112 minerals with Be as an essential element are found in granitic pegmatites and alkalic rocks or in hydrothermal deposits associated with volcanic and shallow-level plutonic rocks and skarns. Because of the extensive differentiation needed to enrich rocks sufficiently in beryllium for beryllium minerals to form, these minerals are relative latecomers in the geologic record: the oldest known is beryl in pegmatites associated with the Sinceni pluton, Swaziland (3000 Ma). In general, beryllium mineral diversity reflects the diversity in the chemical elements available for incorporation in the minerals and increases with the passage of geologic time. Furthermore, the increase is episodic; that is, steep increases at specific times are separated by longer time intervals with little or no increase in diversity. Nonetheless, a closer examination of the record suggests that at about 1700 Ma, the rate of increase in diversity decreases and eventually levels off at ~35 species formed in a given 50 Ma time interval between 1125 and 475 Ma, then increases to 39 species at 125 Ma (except for four spikes), before dropping off to ~30 species for the last 100 Ma. These features appear to reflect several trends at work: (1) diversifications at 2475, 1775, and 525 Ma, which are associated with highly fractionated rare-element granitic pegmatites and with skarns at Långban and similar deposits in the Bergslagen ore region of central Sweden, and which are inferred to correspond to the collisional phases of the supercontinents Kenorland, Nuna, and Gondwana, respectively; (2) diversification at 1175 Ma due to the rich assemblage of beryllium minerals in the Ilímaussaq peralkaline complex, Gardar Province, West Greenland, in an extensional environment; (3) diversification at 275 Ma, which is largely attributable to granitic pegmatites (Appalachian Mountains, U.S.A., and Urals, Russia) and the Larvik alkalic complex, Norway, but nonetheless related to continental collision; and (4) limited exhumation of environments where beryllium minerals could have formed in the last 100 Ma. That the maximum diversity of Be minerals in any one geologic environment could be finite is suggested by the marked slowing of the increase in the number of species formed in a given 50 Ma time interval, whereas the drop off at 100 Ma could be due to 100 Myr being too short a time interval to exhume the deep-seated occurrences where many Be minerals had formed. The relative roles of chance vs. necessity in complex evolving systems has been a matter of considerable debate, one equally applicable to what extent the temporal distribution of beryllium minerals is a matter of contingency. On the one hand, the appearance of the most abundant Be minerals, such as beryl and phenakite, early in the history of Be mineralization appears to be a deterministic aspect since these minerals only require the abundant cations Al and Si and crystallize at relatively low concentrations of Be in aqueous solution or granitic magmas. On the other hand, it could be argued that the very existence of most other Be minerals, as well as the temporal sequence of their appearance, is a matter of chance since 55 of the 112 approved Be minerals are known from a single locality and many of these phases require an unusual combination of relatively rare elements. Consequently, we cannot exclude the possibility that other equally rare and thus contingent potential Be minerals await discovery in as yet unexposed subsurface deposits on Earth, and we suggest that details of Be mineral evolution on other Earth-like planets could differ significantly from those on Earth.


Being the chairman of a company is the top job. Forget the hyperbole and hero-worship surrounding CEOs, it is the world's chairmen who call the real corporate shots. It is chairmen who hire and fire CEOs. Little wonder that some CEOs choose to neuter the chairman by combining the two roles. "Leading the Board" provides unique and powerful insights into what it takes to succeed as a chairman leading a modern organization. Based on global research, the leading business academics and consultants Andrew and Nada Kakabadse unveil the six disciplines of world class chairmen. As the chairman's role becomes increasingly recognized as the pre-eminent leadership role within organizations, "Leading the Board" will become the standard work of reference and inspiration for the world's chairmen and would-be chairmen, as well as those seeking to better understand boardroom dynamics.


Effect of p-chlorphenilalanine and 5-hydroxytriptophan on the urine flow (V), glomerular filtration rate (GFR), free water reabsorption (TCH2O), and sodium fraction excretion (ENa.F%) in Wistar rats loaded with water or 2% sodium chloride solution, was studied. It was found that treatment of rats with inhibitor of serotonin biosynthesis, p-chlorphenilalanine (300 mg/kg, 48 hrs before the experiment) had no effect on the kidney response to the water loading in the experimental rats as compared to the control ones: changes in V, GFR, TCH2O and ENa.F% were the same. Treatment of rats with precursor of serotonin, 5-hydroxytriptophan which is known to increase the serotonin level in the brain (50 mg/kg) simultaneously with the water loading prevented the development of the diuretic reaction because of the high level of TCH2O reflected in the blood vasopressin concentration. Injection of 5-hydroxytriptophan at the maximum level of water diuresis resulted in the sharp increase in TCH2O and drop of the V. 5-hydroxytriptophan had no significant effect on the kidney response to the loading with the 2% sodium chloride solution. Under these conditions, increase in V was produced by suppression of the distal tubular sodium reabsorption, the TCH2O remaining at the high level. It is suggested that the brain serotonin manifested a significant stimulating effect on the vasopressin release from the neurohypophysis, but it is not involved in the mechanisms of suppression of its release into the blood. Serotonin seems not to interact with brain mechanisms regulating natriuretic function of the kidney.


Although it might seem, at first glance, that erōs and philia present purely ethical questions, based on Xenophon's statements it is inferred that he does not distinguish between social and political relations. Consequently, Xenophon's notions of erōs and philia are relevant for understanding his political views. Although the influence of other Socratics on Xenophon cannot be denied, numerous parallels between him and Plato in their views on erōs are especially important for this study. These parallels, as well as the analysis of the Symposium and the Memorabilia of Socrates, show that Xenophon did not advocate the middle way, according to which physical consummation is tempered with respect for the beloved, soul and body. Though Xenophon does not use Plato's metaphor of the winged chariot, at the same time he believes that erōs that overwhelms people is often hesitating over its two extremes, between which there is an ongoing battle over the soul of the lover. The main difference is that while in Plato the "heavenly" side of erōs leads to recognition of the eternal ideas and philosophical life through moral self-improvement, in Xenophon the "celestial" erōs leads to political engagement and concern for the welfare of the polis through moral perfecting and philia.  The Memorabilia of Socrates shows that Xenophon gave special attention to philia and understood it in a very broad sense. In that way Xenophon reveals that he is best familiar with the traditional view on philia and that he rejects the democratic dichotomy public – personal, i.e. polis – oikos. While demos desired to marginalise the influence of philia on public life, Xenophon's view is that philia is not a threat to public welfare, but a basis for successful political life.


Abstract Arthur Leared's Morocco and the Moors (1876) and Budgett Meakin's Life in Morocco and Glimpses Beyond (1905) are two less-examined imperial travel texts on precolonial Morocco. These two travelogues are British (Irish and English, respectively) – a fact that casts on them from the beginning the special taste of this genre which is a British specialty par excellence. Coming from the same political and cultural backdrops, Leared and Meakin peregrinated into Morocco in a precolonial time when it was still perceived as the "Lands of the Moors". These two travellers responded to moments of interactions with the Moors as a culturally, socially and religiously different other. Both these Victorian travellers were aware of the fact of empire as their travelogues function as fodder to energize the discursive grandiloquence of empire. They stress an ethnocentric view in depicting Moroccans and their culture, and they communicate their observations through an interpretative framework, or in Foucauldian terminology, through the "discourses" provided by their culture. This paper undertakes the examination of these two travellers' perception of otherness; the approach is to question and bring to the fore the rhetorical and discursive strategies as well as modes of representation Leared and Meakin deploy in their encounters with the Moors in Pre-Protectorate Morocco.


This classic textbook has been updated to include the latest methods and resources. Fundamentals of Legal Research provides an authoritative introduction and guide to all aspects of legal research, integrating electronic and print sources. The Tenth Edition includes chapters on the true basics (case reporting, statutes, and so on) as well as more specialized chapters on legislative history, tax law, international law, and the law of the United Kingdom. A new chapter addresses Native American tribal law. Chapters on the research process, legal writing, and citation format help integrate legal research into the larger process of solving legal problems and communicating the solutions. This edition includes an updated glossary of research terms and revised tables and appendixes. Because of its depth and breadth, this text is well suited for advanced legal research classes; it is a book that students will want to retain for future use. Moreover, it has a place on librarians and attorneys ready reference shelves. Barkan, Bintliff and Whisner's Assignments to Fundamentals of Legal Research complements the text.


Imagine that there is a gapless plane tessellated by irregular, convex pentagons with their side lengths at the sub-nanoscale, and tiny balls are placed at the vertices of each pentagon. If there are no interactions among these balls, one would expect that they stand still at the vertices of the pentagons. But what if these balls symbolize atoms? The electrons and nuclei of the atoms will start to interact following the laws of quantum mechanics. As a result, the atoms will relocate leading to a system of energy minimum. While performing an experiment of manipulating individual atoms and observing the resulting configurations may be challenging, we apply ab initio density functional theory (DFT) calculations to carry out a virtual experiment, where we assign carbon atoms at the vertices of 14 types of convex pentagons and then optimize the positions of these atoms. We obtain a variety of unexpected structures; almost all of them except types 2 and 4 structures{these two structures are equivalent{differ from the initial pentagonal geometries. We compute the band structure of each resulting geometry representing the crystal structure of a two-dimensional (2D) material. We find diverse electrical properties among these 2D materials: metallic, semiconducting, and semi-metallic with a Dirac cone. Our work shows that encoding quantum mechanics into the geometries of irregular, convex pentagons and with the help of DFT calculations open up a novel route for accelerating discovery of new 2D materials.


In this paper, we study how mines change local societies in the Nordic countries with a particular focus on the Arctic region. Our study is based on register data at the municipality level from Norway, Sweden, and Finland for the period 1986 to 2013. The applied econometric model allows for identification of the total socioeconomic effects that occur throughout the mine's life cycle. We find positive effects on local employment and reductions in unemployment and the number of people outside the labor force when a mine is opening up. We also detect significant shifts in the industry structure in the period around a mine opening and we find that mines attract young people and reduce crime rates. We do not find any effects on the local population size, the gender or education compositions, or fertility rates.


Waterproof waste wood contains a series of chemicals, especially chromium, copper and arsenic, which can be hazardous to human health and the natural environment in concentrated quantities. In this welfare economic analysis the economic and environmental consequences of four methods of processing impregnated waste wood are considered and compared: deposition, incineration, gasification and an extraction process. The quantity of impregnated waste wood is not a limiting factor for the individual method. The analysis includes both the socio-economic and the environmental consequences of applying these methods. The results of the analysis show that incineration and gasification are the cheapest wood processing methods in a welfare economic perspective. The reason is that both methods produce heat and thereby avoid the use of other more polluting fuels. Deposition is quite expensive, and it neither recycles nor uses the energy in the wood. If one only looks at the direct costs of the processes, and does not estimate and include the value of the environmental consequences, the differences between the methods are smaller. The basis for the article is a report by the authors for The Danish Environmental Protection Agency. The authors would like to express their gratitude to the agency for funding.


In this paper, we report on a pilot mixed-methods experiment investigating the effects on
productivity and on the translator experience of integrating machine translation (MT) postediting (PE) with voice recognition (VR) and translation dictation (TD). The experiment
was performed with a sample of native Spanish participants. In the quantitative phase of the
experiment, they performed four tasks under four different conditions, namely (1)
conventional TD; (2) PE in dictation mode; (3) TD with VR; and (4) PE with VR (PEVR).
In the follow-on qualitative phase, the participants filled out an online survey, providing
details of their perceptions of the task and of PEVR in general. Our results suggest that
PEVR may be a usable way to add MT to a translation workflow, with some caveats. When
asked about their experience with the tasks, our participants preferred translation without the
'constraint' of MT, though the quantitative results show that PE tasks were generally more
efficient. This paper provides a brief overview of past work exploring VR for from-scratch
translation and PE purposes, describes our pilot experiment in detail, presents an overview
and analysis of the data collected, and outlines avenues for future work.


Teleretinal/teleophthalmological programs that use existing health information technology infrastructure solutions for people with diabetes increase access to and adherence to appropriate eye care. Teleophthalmological studies indicate that the single act of patients viewing their own retinal images improves self‐management behaviour and clinical outcomes. In some settings this can be done at lower cost and with improved visual outcomes compared with standard eye care. Cost‐effective and sustainable teleretinal surveillance for detection of diabetic retinopathy requires a combination of an inexpensive portable device for taking low light‐level retinal images without the use of pharmacological dilation of the pupil and a computer‐assisted methodology for rapidly detecting and diagnosing diabetic retinopathy. A more holistic telehealth‐care paradigm augmented with the use of health information technology, medical devices, mobile phone and mobile health applications and software applications to improve health‐care co‐ordination, self‐care management and education can significantly impact a broad range of health outcomes, including prevention of diabetes‐associated visual loss. This approach will require a collaborative, transformational, patient‐centred health‐care program that integrates data from medical record systems with remote monitoring of data and a longitudinal health record. This includes data associated with social media applications and personal mobile health technology and should support continuous interactions between the patient, health‐care team and the patient's social environment. Taken together, this system will deliver contextually and temporally relevant decision support to patients to facilitate their well‐being and to reduce the risk of diabetic complications.


Morphbank, an on-line collection of museum-quality biological images, is an NSF funded project designed to facilitate the on-line collaboration of biologists from around the world [3]. Our primary focus is to aid in the collection and management of images that are useful in phylogenetic research. Morphbank users are actively collaborating on the creation of information that represents the associations among images and related biodiversity data objects. This paper describes the Morphbank annotation tool and data models and gives examples of how users create structured information in the system. Schematized annotation provides biologists with a flexible framework to create semantically-rich annotations using their own data models.


The success of the AGM paradigm—the theory of belief change initiated by Alchourrón, Gärdenfors, and Makinson—is remarkable, as even a quick look at the literature it has generated will testify. But it is also remarkable, at least in hindsight, how limited was the original effort. For example, the theory concerns the beliefs of just one agent; all incoming information is accepted; belief change is uniquely determined by the new information; there is no provision for nested beliefs. And perhaps most surprising: there is no analysis of iterated change. In this paper it is that last restriction that is at issue. Our medium of study is dynamic doxastic logic (DDL). The success of the AGM paradigm The particular contribution of the paper is detailed completeness proofs for three dynamic doxastic logics of iterated belief revision. The problem of extending the AGM paradigm to include iterated change has been discussed for years, but systematic discussions have appeared only recently (see Segerberg, 2007 and forthcoming, but also van Benthem, 2007; Rott, 2006; Zvesper, 2007).


Many prominent international entrepreneurs, from Dame Anita Roddick, founder of the Body Shop, to Mohammad Yunus, founder of the Grameen Foundation and winner of the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize, have built their international ventures around social responsible (SR) business ideas. Moreover, the popular business literature is brimming with examples of newly established international firms that draw considerable competitive advantages from strategies based on corporate social responsibility (CSR). Yet, in the same popular literature, we see that the multinational company remains the major scapegoats when it comes to the blame for global social and environmental problems. Even if this debate is ongoing in the popular literature, the academic literature is surprisingly absent. What exactly is the relationship between internationalization of firms and social responsibility? And what implications does it have for international entrepreneurs and research in the field of international entrepreneurship? This study seeks to address these questions by performing a comprehensive literature review on the internationalization social responsibility relationship in order to establish what research has concluded so far and suggest some promising venues for further research within the field of entrepreneurship. The study identifies five research topics that dominate the literature on internationalization and social responsibility. We present these five issues and suggest eight propositions that summarize our knowledge to date. Furthermore, we present three gaps in the literature that constitutes promising research venues for the social responsibility and business ethics research community.


Regulatory science has been reframed for evaluating environmental risks of GM crops in both the USA and Europe. Social conflict has contributed to disputes over scientific evidence and thus increased scientific uncertainty. Environmentalist criticisms have influenced mainstream debates about how to define harm, how to evaluate GM crops vis-a-vis alternatives, and how to design risk research. Regulatory criteria have been reconstructed through socio-cultural values, public protest and institutional responses. Regulatory changes can be understood as four related processes. New scientific uncertainties have arisen from public-scientific debate. Extra-scientific judgements have been acknowledged within regulatory issues and expert advice, rather than remain hidden behind 'science'. Criteria for evidence of safety have become more stringent, specifically regarding environmental norms and causal pathways of potential harm. Trans-Atlantic trade conflicts have been a source of political opportunities and scientific resources for those regulatory changes, especially in the US.


The indications for splenectomy in haematological and myeloproliferative disorders are now wider than before. An increased understanding of the concept of hypersplenism and a developing appreciation of the value of splenectomy in chronic leukaemia has been partially responsible for the increase. The principal factor, however, has been the advent of routine splenectomy as an integral part of the diagnostic process in Hodgkin's disease. This paper discusses these indications and their surgical pathology.


This study reports on the Grey relational system, with a statistical experiment to enhance the quality characteristics of yttria stabilized zirconia (ZrO2/8%Y2O3)coatings made by a plasma-sprayed process. The eight control factors were designed in an L18 factorial orthogonal array experiment, and the effects of the control parameters on the surface properties were critically evaluated in the experiments. The characteristic terms- surface roughness, porosity, hardness, and wear volume in the sprayed ZrO2/8%Y2O3 coatings through the optimization- were studied comparatively. A grey relational system, based on the Taguchi orthogonal experiment for optimizing multi-responses in the modified properties, was reported. In addition, the influence of control factors on the grey relational system for spraying processes was investigated by analysis of variance. In addition, a confirmation experiment was conducted. Experimental results have shown that the hardness increased by 31.19%, while the surface roughness decreased by 40.67%, the porosity was reduced by 53.53%, and the wear rate improved by 24.21%. It is clear that the quality characteristics for plasma sprayed coatings are greatly improved through grey relational analysis, and that these findings achieved the desired values in regard to the modified properties.


A very general and robust approach to solving continuous-variable optimization problems involving uncertainty in the objective function is through the use of ordinal optimization. At each step in the optimization problem, improvement is based only on a relative ranking of the uncertainty effects on local design alternatives, rather than on precise quantification of the effects. One simply asks "Is that alternative better or worse than this one?" –not "HOW MUCH better or worse is that alternative to this one?" The answer to the latter question requires precise characterization of the uncertainty—with the corresponding sampling/integration expense for precise resolution. However, in this report we demonstrate correct decision-making in a continuous-variable probabilistic optimization problem despite extreme vagueness in the statistical characterization of the design options. We present a new adaptive ordinal method for probabilistic optimization in which the trade-off between computational expense and vagueness in the uncertainty characterization can be conveniently managed in various phases of the optimization problem to make cost-effective stepping decisions in the design space. Spatial correlation of uncertainty in the continuous-variable design space is exploited to dramatically increase method efficiency. Under many circumstances the method appears to have favorable robustness and cost-scaling properties relative to other probabilistic optimization methods, and uniquely has mechanisms for quantifying and controlling error likelihood in design-space stepping decisions. The method is asymptotically convergent to the true probabilistic optimum, so could be useful as a reference standard against which the efficiency and robustness of other methods can be compared—analogous to the role that Monte Carlo simulation plays in uncertainty propagation.


Historically, knowledge of ethnobotany, which has revealed different phytochemical and pharmacological compounds from traditional plants, has formed the basis for new anticancer drug discovery. The use of some Piper species in traditional medicine against cancer, suggests that genus Piper is a promising source of new compounds with anticancer activity. A total of 28 ethanolic extracts were obtained from 16 different Piper spp., then in vitro cytotoxicity activity was performed with 3-[4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2,5 diphenyl tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay in three certified human cancer cell lines (A549 lung, PC-3 prostate and MDAMB-231 breast). Seven ethanolic extracts obtained from different parts of Piper eriopodon, Piper cumanense and Piper bogotense showed promising anticancer effect with IC50 values below to 30 µg/mL. The most potent cytotoxic effect was found in the leaves ethanolic extract of P. eriopodon with an IC50 of 17.7 µg/mL for A549, 11.8 µg/mL for PC-3 and 20.7 µg/mL for MDAMB-231. Bioassay guided fractionation was performed for the most active extract and a highly cytotoxic compound was isolated and identified by spectroscopic means, mainly 1D and 2D RMN spectroscopy. The isolated compound identified as gibbilimbol B was shown to be a strong cytotoxic effect against cancer cell lines with IC50 values in the range of 11.4 and 41.9 µg/mL.

 Key words: Piper, Piperaceae, alkenylphenols, cytotoxicity, anticancer, gibbilimbol B.


Ecological and conservation research has provided a strong scientific underpinning to the modeling of ecosystem services (ESs) over space and time, by identifying the ecological processes and components of biodiversity (ecosystem service providers, functional traits) that drive ES supply. Despite this knowledge, efforts to map the distribution of ESs often rely on simple spatial surrogates that provide incomplete and non-mechanistic representations of the biophysical variables they are intended to proxy. However, alternative data sets are available that allow for more direct, spatially nuanced inputs to ES mapping efforts. Many spatially explicit, quantitative estimates of biophysical parameters are currently supported by remote sensing, with great relevance to ES mapping. Additional parameters that are not amenable to direct detection by remote sensing may be indirectly modeled with spatial environmental data layers. We review the capabilities of modern remote sensing for describing biodiversity, plant traits, vegetation condition, ecological processes, soil properties, and hydrological variables and highlight how these products may contribute to ES assessments. Because these products often provide more direct estimates of the ecological properties controlling ESs than the spatial proxies currently in use, they can support greater mechanistic realism in models of ESs. By drawing on the increasing range of remote sensing instruments and measurements, data sets appropriate to the estimation of a given ES can be selected or developed. In so doing, we anticipate rapid progress to the spatial characterization of ecosystem services, in turn supporting ecological conservation, management, and integrated land use planning.


Engineering design of spot welded components as well as computational analyse of the local stress in the weld zone require relevant fatigue test data. Those test data, however, are dependent on the applied specimens, on the specimen restrain, on the load introduction into the weld zone as well as on the definition of the specimen failure. The discussion of the advantages and drawbacks as well as of the influence of these factors shows that a deliberate selection of specimens is necessary for different test purposes. For the comparability of the test results it is essential in addition to specify comparable test conditions, e. g. specimen fixturing, load introduction and definition of the specimen failure. On account of the variety of variants, a standardization of suitable specimens and respective test conditions hence constitutes an approach to the determination of relevant and comparable test results.


Male-factor infertility is responsible for 30-55% of all infertility cases. The causes of male infertility include varicocele, endocrine disorders, genital tract infections, genetic disorders and idiopathic. It is estimated that genetic abnormalities contribute to 50% of male infertility. In daily practice, the diagnosis of male infertility has been based on history taking, relevant physical examination, hormone tests and basic semen analysis with a strong emphasis on the assessment of sperm concentration, motility, and morphology. Although recent development in assisted-reproductive technologies such as in vitro fertilization and intrauterine insemination increases the chance of clinical pregnancy and live birth, genetic counseling and testing should always be performed whenever genetic risks are related to the cause of infertility for the identification of possible genetic abnormalities and to assess the risk of transmitting the genetic defects to future generations. Genetic defects affect male infertility by disrupting hormonal homeostasis, spermatogenesis, and sperm quality. These genetic defects include chromosomal abnormalities (e.g. Klinefelter Syndrome), Y chromosome deletions, and cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator gene mutations. The utilization of genetic counseling and testing is also important to predict the success of sperm retrieval in men with certain genetic abnormalities. To name a few, genetic analysis at the chromosomal level (karyotyping), androgen receptor gene mutations test, cystic fibrosis test, and Y chromosome microdeletions analysis should be considered in the diagnosis of male factor infertility where genetic risks are present.


Aim: Debridement during root canal treatment is mandatory and it is provided by means of chemomechanical instrumentation and irrigation methods. This article analysis the debridement capacity of a novel system, SAF and its special irrigation device when used with different operation times in curved root canals.
Methodology: 30 mesiobuccal root canals of maxillary molars were instrumented using SAF. Teeth were divided into three groups. In Group 1, 10 new SAF files were used for operation for 4 minutes. In Group 2, the 4-min previously used SAF files were operated in the same manner. In Group 3, the 8-min previously used SAF files were operated. During SAF operation 2.6 % NaOCl and 17 % EDTA were used alternately in all groups. Debris and smear layer removal were evaluated for the apical thirds under scanning electron microscope.
Results: Non-used, 4-min preused, and 8-min preused SAF efficiently removed debris and smear layer in the apical thirds. There were no significant difference among the groups in terms of debridement.
Conclusions: When SAF is operated in curved root canals with continous flow of irrigation it results in debris and smear-free canal walls in the critical apical thirds within 12 minutes.

How to cite this article: Yigit Ozer S, Adiguzel O, Kaya S. Removal of debris and smear layer in curved root canals using self-adjusting file with different operation times - A scanning electron microscope study. Int Dent Res 2011;1:1-6.

Linguistic Revision: The English in this manuscript has been checked by at least two professional editors, both native speakers of English.


Nearly half the world's population and about 81 percent of Sub-Saharan African (SSA) households rely on wood-based biomass energy (fuel wood and charcoal) for cooking. This degree of reliance is far greater than in any other region. While the use of biomass fuels in China, India and much of the developing world has peaked or will do so in the near future, SSA's consumption will either remain at very high levels or even grow over the next few decades. Population growth, coupled with strong urbanization dynamics and relative price changes of alternative fuels, offset the important achievements made over the past decade by significant investments in energy access, rural and urban electrification, off-grid energy developments, and the promotion of alternative energy sources. With increasing economic development, the demand for energy is increasing as well and consumers depend on a broader portfolio of energy sources to satisfy growing energy needs. While electricity and other energy sources are needed to satisfy additional energy needs emerging with economic development, a vast majority of Sub-Saharan African consumers continue to use wood based biomass energy for cooking. Especially electricity is not regarded a suitable alternative for cooking given equipment and use costs. Biomass burning in cook stoves also emits black carbon (BC) as part of visible smoke, which is particulate matter that results from incomplete combustion. Climate science now views BC as the second or third largest warming agent after carbon dioxide, alongside methane. In the case of biomass cooking, the warming effects of BC and the cooling effects of organic carbon that is also emitted during the burning appear to be closely balanced. Given the present uncertainty about the net impact, additional research is currently underway. Black carbon has also an impact at the regional level: it accelerates melting of ice and snow, and contributes to regional pollution which can alter climatic conditions and precipitation patterns over a wide area. This paper advocates that any policy reform should entail a combination of clear rules, transparent enforcement, strong incentives and awareness-creation/capacity development. Key stakeholders and the general public need guidance by way of information campaigns, training, and demonstration projects to ensure that awareness-deficits or false perceptions do not curtail policy implementation. The bureaucratic and administrative barriers e.g. overcomplicated forest management planning requirements, complex fiscal systems and land tenure procedures may inhibit development and thus warrant critical reflection. The regulatory framework needs to integrate externalities in order to promote adequate pricing of charcoal, and thus enhance regional economies.


Multilayer Ceramic Capacitors (MLCC) are the most widely used capacitor type in the electronics industry. However, the brittle ceramic dielectric makes MLCCs prone to mechanical damage. Manufacturing defects or damage during board assembly may cause a capacitor to prematurely fail during its operational life. Here, we demonstrate fast and non-destructive acoustic screening of MLCCs. Soldered 2220-sized MLCCs were subjected to AC voltage frequency sweeps, causing them to vibrate mechanically. Acoustic responses of the capacitors were measured before and after subjecting the test circuit board to severe bending. The results show that cracks and delaminations caused by bending induce characteristic changes in the capacitors' acoustic response.


The main work is calculating and analyzing the worktable's static stiffness in different positions, and drawing 3D static stiffness spectrum of the worktable in Z direction according to the analyzing results. DVG850 High-speed machining centre is taken as the research object, to establish the solid modal in ANSYS Workbench and analyze the worktable's static stiffness in different positions. and the paper uses its worktable as the researching object. According to the results the spectrum of the static stiffness of the worktable is drawing in Matlab. The spectrum shows that the more the position is near the edge, the larger the static stiffness is, and it changes faster, however the middle is smaller. This spectrum has certain directive significance for the optimal design and improvement of product quality of design.


Women of reproductive age in Cambodia and many other developing countries comprise a large part of factories' workforce. Integrating family planning and reproductive health information and services into factories can improve workers' health and help countries achieve FP2020 commitments. This case study looks at the process of how the Cambodian Ministry of Labor and Vocational Training launched as formal policy a set of workplace health infirmary guidelines for enterprises. What made this policy process unique for Cambodia – and what can be replicated by health advocates elsewhere – is that a group of organizations typically focused on public health policy successfully engaged on labor policy with a labor ministry. This case study describes the policy process which was underpinned by the strategic use of evidence in decision-making and has been hailed by government donors civil society and industry as a success. The learnings presented in this case study should be useful to health advocates labor advocates and program designers.


Due to bad welds including small button, weld expulsion, and weld whisker etc., it is studied that the effect of constant and variable electrode force with servo gun on the weld quality of high strength steels with different thickness and materials. The results show that the electrode force plays an important role in resistance spot welding of AHSS as well as that of mild steels. Under the same welding current and time, better welds with higher tensile shear strength and larger nugget size can be obtained by optimizing electrode force curve using servo gun. The solutions could supply reference to study the prospect of servo gun in the joining of high strength steels.


We calculate the high energy neutrino spectrum from gamma-ray bursts where the emission arises in a dissipative jet photosphere determined by either baryonically or magnetically dominated dynamics, and compare these neutrino spectra to those obtained in conventional internal shock models. We also calculate the diffuse neutrino spectra based on these models, which appear compatible with the current IceCube 40+59 constraints. While a re-analysis based on the models discussed here and the data from the full array would be needed, it appears that only those models with the most extreme parameters are close to being constrained at present. A multi-year operation of the full IceCube and perhaps a next generation of large volume neutrino detectors may be required in order to distinguish between the various models discussed.


This paper explores the idea of the post-museum as an immersive knowledge experience facilitating conceptual and strategic directions in public engagement with science and technology. It considers the extent to which the museum has evolved from repository of cultural artefacts to experience-based process of knowledge acquisition and production. The post-museum is invoked as a model of participatory pedagogy that moves beyond traditional forms of learning, knowledge acquisition and knowledge interface, and conceptualisations of the learner in science. It is presented as an educational and recreational experience, which locates and translates knowledge to the novice or non-traditional patron using rich social narratives that ground scientific expertise in the practice of everyday life. The experience of science is thus made familiar and relevant and concurrently regulated and owned by the visitor. The learner is consequently recast from passive recipient of information-bites to choreographer, translator and innovator within a scientific knowledge continuum.


No satisfactory treatment currently exists for melanoma once it has spread beyond its original site. At present, the only FDA-approved treatment for advanced melanoma is IFN-alpha2b. Vaccines are an experimental therapy intended to stimulate the immune system to react more strongly against patients' own melanoma cells, thereby destroying the tumour or slowing its progression. Unfortunately, the exact tumour antigens that can stimulate an effective tumour-protective response in humans remain unknown. The approach that is increasingly followed to circumvent this problem is to prepare polyvalent vaccines containing a variety of melanoma antigens, as the greater the number of antigens in a vaccine, the greater the chance it will contain the correct antigen(s) to stimulate an antitumour response. Two recent randomised trials suggest that this approach results in vaccines that can be clinically effective. One is a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of a polyvalent, shed antigen melanoma vaccine developed by Bystryn and licenced to NeoVac; the other is a larger randomised trial of Melacine (Corixa Corp.), a vaccine prepared from the lysate of two melanoma cell lines adjuvanted with Detox, which was developed by Mitchell and commercialized by Corixa. In both cases, tumour progression was delayed in the vaccine-treated patients, although in the latter trial, this was only observed in patients with certain human leukocyte antigen phenotypes. Several other vaccines are currently in Phase III trials, but the results of these trials are still pending. The major issues that need to be addressed are designing more effective melanoma vaccines with a mix of melanoma-associated antigens that can stimulate clinically beneficial antitumour immune responses, and finding an adjuvant that can safely, easily and powerfully boost the frequency and magnitude of these responses.


Although the SIP History-Info header is the solution adopted in IETF,
the non-standard Diversion header is nevertheless widely implemented
and used for conveying call-diversion-related information in SIP
signaling. This document describes a recommended interworking
guideline between the Diversion header and the History-Info header to
handle call diversion information. In addition, an interworking policy
is proposed to manage the headers' coexistence. The History-Info
header is described in RFC 4244 and the non-standard Diversion header
is described, as Historic, in RFC 5806. Since the Diversion header is
used in many existing network implementations for the transport of
call diversion information, its interworking with the SIP History-Info
standardized solution is needed. This work is intended to enable the
migration from non- standard implementations and deployment toward
IETF specification- based implementations and deployment. This
document is not an Internet Standards Track specification; it is
published for informational purposes.


OBJECTIVE
A study was conducted to determine whether for-profit and not-for-profit freestanding renal dialysis facilities differ with respect to efficiency in the production of dialysis treatments.

DATA SOURCES/STUDY SETTING
National data on 1,224 Medicare-certified freestanding dialysis facilities were obtained from the Health Care Financing Administration's (HCFA) 1990 Independent Renal Dialysis Facility Cost Report. Data on Medicare patients receiving care at these facilities during 1990 were obtained from HCFA's End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) Program Management and Medical Information System (PMMIS).

STUDY DESIGN
Ordinary least squares regression (OLS) was used to estimate the association between monthly output of dialysis treatments in 1990 and (a) facility capital and labor inputs, (b) facility ownership characteristics, and (c) case-mix characteristics.

DATA COLLECTION/EXTRACTION METHODS
Facility and patient level data were extracted from the Facility Cost Report and the PMMIS databases, respectively. Patient level data were aggregated by facility and merged with facility level data.

PRINCIPAL FINDINGS
For-profit sole proprietorships, for-profit partnerships and for-profit corporations each produced significantly more dialysis treatments per month than not-for-profits, adjusting for quantities of resource inputs and case-mix characteristics.

CONCLUSION
For-profit facilities appear to be more efficient producers of dialysis treatments than not-for-profits. Further study should address whether other factors such as differences in severity of disease or in quality of care are responsible for these observations.


More studies have been conducted on determinants of smallholder participation in markets as sellers, with scant attention to why farmers participate in markets as either net sellers, autarkic or net buyers. Employing a random effect ordered probit model, this paper examines factors determining households' participation in maize markets as either net sellers, autarkic or net buyers. Contrary to government intentions for producer price supports, this study showed that households that faced high producer selling prices of maize were likely to be net buyers. However, household membership to agricultural production groups increased the likelihood of farmers being net sellers. Similarly, adoption of inorganic fertilizer and improved maize varieties were positively associated with being net sellers. Therefore, policies supporting high producer selling prices should be discouraged and instead encourage those that ease smallholder access to fertilizer and improved maize seed.


Objective To examine the current evidence regarding return-to-play (RTP) and performance after Achilles tendon rupture in elite athletes treated with operative intervention. Design Scoping review. Data sources Published sources identified through a PubMed search of elite athletes, defined as professional or division one collegiate athletes in baseball, basketball, American football or soccer. Methods Our search yielded a total of 2402 studies, with 13 studies fulfilling the study criteria of reporting elite athletes with objective measures of their athletic performance. A total of 709 elite athletes were included from the NBA, NFL, Major League Baseball (MLB), National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) football and professional soccer. Results and discussion Overall, 61%–100% of elite male athletes RTP after Achilles tendon rupture and operative repair. NBA players had inferior performance compared with their preoperative status as well as controls of non-injured players. Studies did not show significantly different performance after Achilles injury for MLB players. Professional soccer, NFL and NCAA football studies reported varying performance after injury. Conclusions Evidence suggests that sports with explosive plantarflexion demands, such as basketball, may be associated with a greater decrease in performance despite operative intervention after Achilles rupture.


The essential oil from leaves of Pistacia lentiscus L., an aromatic member of the Anarcadiaceae family from Eastern Morocco, obtained by hydrodistillation, was analysed by GC-FID and GC-MS. The constituents were identified by their mass spectra and Kovats'indices. About 104 constituents were detected in the oil. From these components, about 40 could be identified and quantified, comprising over 88.6% of the oil. The main constituents of the oil were: myrcene (39.2%), limonene (10,3) �-gurjunene (7.8), germacrene (4.3%), �-pinene (2.9%), muurolene (2.9), �-humulene (2.6), Epi- bicyclosesquiphellandrene (2.5), �-pinene (2.2). The results of this study shows both qualitative and quantitative differences with oils from P. lentiscus L of other countries.


In this paper, we review a range of approaches used to capture monetary policy in a period of Zero Lower Bound (ZLB). We concentrate here on methods closely linked to interest rates, which include: spreads, synthetic indices from principal component analysis, and different shadow rates. Next, we calculate these measures for the euro area, draw comparisons among different approaches, and look at the effects on main macroeconomic variables, with a special focus on inflation. By and large, the impact of unconventional monetary policy shocks on inflation is found to be significantly positive across studies and methods. Finally, we summarize the literature on the Natural Real Rate of Interest. This overview may help to assess how long low (real) interest rates in a ZLB stay in place, potentially leading to more accurate policy recommendations.


This dissertation examines students' perceived and actual use of strategies for reading and writing, through both qualitative and quantitative lenses. It compares and investigates what students say they do and what they actually do when they read and write about what they have read. A single quantitative tool, a survey about reading and writing strategy use, was administered to 75 students in grade 9 English classes. A range of qualitative tools and analyses were employed with four focal students: (a) reader and writer identity interviews, and (b) a series of reading-writing tasks for each of three different genres--the literary narrative, persuasive article, and history text. In each genre, the reading-writing task set consisted of a reading think aloud protocol on one text, writing in response to the text and a prompt, and participating in a writing retrospective interview. The study draws upon cognitive and socio-cultural perspectives, applying genre theory to the literature on strategies for reading, writing, and reading-to-write in order to frame the ways in which context, identity, and audience affect how students think about and use strategies for reading and writing.Reading and writing in different genres entail affordances and constraints that affect students' perceptions and enactments of strategies. Furthermore, students' identities, including their background experiences and motivations, affect their decisions to prioritize some strategies over others. Students think differently about strategies for the two interrelated processes: reading and writing about reading. Students perceive that writing about a text is a more strategic process than reading alone; but this perception does not necessarily translate into a greater sense of student ownership and authority over their writing. The public nature of writing in comparison to the more private nature of reading leads students to prioritize strategies for addressing an audience over strategies that demonstrate their understanding of content when they write about what they read. Students perceived that the most useful strategies for reading were ones that related either to invoking or to building background knowledge. The genre of the text also influenced the strategies that the focal students claimed to enact. Students related that strategy use acted as a motivating factor by making texts more interesting and accessible. They described how the genre, context, and purpose for reading, affected which strategy they opted to adopt in order to best fit the reading situation.Students' enactments of reading strategies were full of complexity, and single strategies were hardly ever used in isolation. Strategies intersected and overlapped as students employed them together during the process of reading and making inferences, which aided in the construction of their situation models (Kintsch, 1998). At times, certain strategies played a more central role than others. Although the focal students tended to use many of the same stock strategies such as visualizing, rereading to clarify one's comprehension or understand new vocabulary, paraphrasing, summarizing, and questioning, how, why, and in what manner they used the strategies was highly specific and tended to be almost idiosyncratic to the individual's background as a reader and his or her purposes and aims for reading. Genre especially influenced the strategies that students actually used. The focal students' knowledge and impressions about how to read a genre impacted which strategies were privileged and how they were used. Although students used similar strategies across genres, how these strategies were used differed based on the utility of the strategy in each genre. Students' knowledge about how to read and approach a genre helped them choose the best strategies for aiding their comprehension.Comparing students' perceptions about reading to their perceptions about writing about what they have read, students reported that they were likely to use more strategies for writing about reading than for reading alone. As students described themselves as writers, they revealed that their perceptions about audience and genre requirements influenced the strategies they used when they wrote. Students' interpretations of the purpose for writing and their ideas about what a piece of writing in a specific genre should look like influenced the strategies that they thought were most useful in that genre. The findings regarding students' actual use of strategies for writing about reading indicated that the disciplinary subject matter and genre of each of the readings impacted how students responded to the texts and prompts. Students' actual use of strategies revealed their overarching concerns about audience, genre, and what it means to write in school. These concerns echoed the findings related to students' perceptions about writing. Furthermore, how students approached writing their responses to each of the texts they read for the study (i.e. the literary narrative, persuasive article, and history text) depended on their identities, which influenced students' interest and motivation for writing about what personally mattered. Regardless of genre, what tended to stand out for students during reading somehow made its way into students' written responses. Students' perceptions and enactments of strategies differ across genres, purposes, and contexts. Implications from this study suggest that strategies for reading and writing need to be taught and learned in relation to disciplinary and genre-specific ways of thinking.


Transactional memory is perceived as an appealing alternative to critical sections for general purpose concurrent programming. Despite the large amount of recent work on transactional memory implementations, however, its actual specification has never been precisely defined. This paper presents opacity, a new correctness criterion for transactional memory systems. Opacity extends the notion of strict serializability, itself a strong form of the classical serializability property, with the requirement that even non-committed transactions are prevented from accessing inconsistent state. Yet opacity does not preclude versioning, invisible reads and lazy updates, often used by modern TM implementations. In fact, most transactional memory systems we know of ensure opacity. We prove a tight bound on the inherent cost of implementing opacity. The bound highlights a trade-off that explains some of the differences between current transactional memory systems, and also draws a sharp complexity line between opacity on one hand, and the combination of strict serializability and strict recoverability on the other hand.


When working with object classification and localization in image data, the development
of traditional rule-based solutions has stagnated in recent years. In its place, machine
learning has become a major field of research in order to handle more and more complex
image recognition problems. With machine learning, new state-of-the-art models can be
developed by training a model instead of implementing an explicitly programmed feature
detector.
In this thesis, a literature study covering the field of machine learning has been carried
out on behalf of Volvo Advanced Technology and Research. Furthermore, with an autonomous
garbage handling project initiated by Volvo in mind, two machine learning
models meant for limited hardware-deployment have been designed and trained. The
classification model is based on knowledge distillation, where a compact model learns to
generalize from a more complex state-of-the-art model, and a localization model, where
a typical machine learning implementation is combined with computer vision solutions
from the OpenCV framework.
Both models, that were trained on images from the ImageNet database, produced poor
results in their respective tasks. The process of knowledge distillation, used to train the
classifier, was not achievable due to unfortunate choice of cumbersome model combined
with hardware limitations during training. The hardware was also an issue for the localization
model, which due to this and unwanted performance from the OpenCV corner
detector converged early during training and ended up producing unchanged results for
different input. However, the thesis as a whole came to important conclusions regarding
a proper next step in order to stay competitive within the field of machine learning.


On 29 March 2010, the Kamer voor Onpartijdigheid en Bescherming van Minderjarigen (Chamber for Impartiality and the Protection of Minors) of the Vlaamse Regulator voor de Media (Flemish Regulator for the Media) considered a complaint regarding a teletext message on the public broadcaster VRT that covered the 65th anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi concentration camp Auschwitz-Birkenau. The message amongst others contained the phrase " In Auschwitz zijn zeker 1,1 miljoen mensen omgekomen " (freely translated, "In Auschwitz, at least 1,1 million human beings deceased"). According to the plaintiff, VRT had consciously failed to mention that most of the victims were Jews. Moreover, the use of the word ' omgekomen ' (deceased) seems to refer to some sort of accident, while in reality all the victims had been liquidated (' omgebracht '). For these reasons, the plaintiff held that false, consciously incomplete information had been spread and that VRT had displayed a lack of impartiality in its coverage on that teletext page. According to him, VRT therefore had violated Article 39 of the Flemish Media Decree, which stipulates that any form of discrimination must be avoided in all programmes and that news coverage must be presented in a spirit of political and ideological impartiality (The Decree explicitly adds that this Article also applies to teletext). VRT argued that most teletext messages are first extensively published on its website (www.deredactie.be) and afterwards summarised to fit the exigencies of the medium teletext. Because of the very nature of this medium, some aspects of the covered item must be described in a concise way. Furthermore, VRT held that the word 'omgekomen' (deceased) was replaced by 'omgebracht' (liquidated) immediately after the editorial staff received an email from the plaintiff. Finally, the public broadcaster stated that it had deliberately chosen not to distinguish between the different groups of Nazi victims. The Regulator considered that the initial use of the word 'omgekomen' (deceased) should be seen as a consequence of the way in which messages on the website are transformed into a teletext message. The Regulator observed that the coverage on the website did make mention of the fact that prisoners were gassed and cremated. In addition, the Regulator decided that the lack of mention of the fact that most victims were Jewish, an aspect that however was elaborated extensively upon on the website, could be ascribed to the need for brevity on teletext. As a result, the Regulator judged that VRT had not violated its obligation of impartiality and non-discrimination, as worded in Article 39 of the Media Decree.


We redefine free will as the concept of identity in a deterministic universe. Causality is related to a meaningful explanation. For impossible explanations, causality does not exist, and the identity of the self-breaks. Only in meaningful causal worlds may personal identities exist. We are one person described by the meaningful path in the multiverse that is correlated with our free choices.


In spite of its popularity, the Five Factor Model (FFM) has been criticized for being too descriptive to provide a theoretical model of personality. The current article conceptualizes the FFM as stable individual differences in people's motivational reactions to circumscribed classes of environmental stimuli. Specifically, extraversion was conceptualized as individual differences in the activation of reward system in social situations, agreeableness as differences in the motivation to cooperate (vs. acting selfishly) in resource conflicts, conscientiousness as differences in the tenacity of goal pursuit under distracting circumstances, neuroticism as differences in the activation of the punishment system when faced with cues of social exclusion, and openness for experiences as differences in the activation of reward system when engaging in cognitive activity. We devised a questionnaire that is consistent with these motivational conceptualizations. This questionnaire turned out to differ from an established FFM questionnaire in terms of content but it did not interfere with the factorial, structural, and predictive validity of the FFM. The resulting theoretical framework may help to bridge the traditional divide between structureand process-oriented approaches in personality psychology.


Na-Ca exchange current was measured at various concentrations of internal Na [( Na]i) and Ca [( Ca]i) using intracellular perfusion technique and whole-cell voltage clamp in single cardiac ventricular cells of guinea pig. Internal Ca has an activating effect on Nai-Cao exchange beginning at approximately 10 nM and saturating at approximately 50 nM with a half maximum [Ca]i (Km[Ca]i) of 22 nM (Hill coefficient, 3.7). Measurement of Nai-Cao exchange current at various concentration of [Na]i revealed an apparent Km[Na]i of 20.7 +/- 6.9 mM (n = 14) with imax of 3.5 +/- 1.2 microA/microF. For [Ca]i transported by the exchange, a Km[Ca]i of 0.60 +/- 0.24 microM (n = 8) with an imax of 3.0 +/- 0.54 microA/microF was obtained by measuring Nao-Cai exchange current. These values are apparently different from the values for the external binding site which have been reported previously. Whether Na and Ca compete for the external binding site, and if so, how it affects the binding constants was then investigated. Outward Nai-Cao exchange current became larger by reducing [Na]o. The double reciprocal plot of the current magnitude and [Ca]o at different [Na]o revealed a competitive interaction between Na and Ca. In the absence of competitor [Na]o, an apparent Km[Ca]o of 0.14 mM was obtained. When comparing internal and external Km values, the external value is markedly larger than the internal one and thus we conclude that binding sites of the Na- Ca exchange molecule are at least apparently asymmetrical between the inside and outside of the membrane.


In this paper, we consider multicell processing on the downlink of a cellular network to accomplish ldquomacrodiversityrdquo transmit beamforming. The particular downlink beamformer structure we consider allows a recasting of the downlink beamforming problem as a virtual linear mean square error (LMMSE) estimation problem. We exploit the structure of the channel and develop distributed beamforming algorithms using local message passing between neighboring base stations. For 1-D networks, we use the Kalman smoothing framework to obtain a forward-backward beamforming algorithm. We also propose a limited extent version of this algorithm that shows that the delay need not grow with the size of the network in practice. For 2-D cellular networks, we remodel the network as a factor graph and present a distributed beamforming algorithm based on the sum-product algorithm. Despite the presence of loops in the factor graph, the algorithm produces optimal results if convergence occurs.


The paper discusses the dynamics of materialisation with the example of how the all-pervading materiality of suffering, death and medical help is portrayed – i.e. materialised – in the Swedish web site of Medecins sans Frontiers /Doctors without Borders, Lakare utan Granser. The site is presenting the organisation's work as heavily anchored in material circumstances on many levels. There are the brutish forces of natural catastrophes and human-induced conflicts, wars, extreme poverty, malnourishment, epidemics, all shattering human lives, causing suffering and foreboding death. These conditions together with the climate, distances and myriads of other material circumstances limit also the MsF teams' labour and the help that is possible to give – the help that is vital and desperately needed, though always too scarce. The depicted efforts to bring relief and assistance may also be regarded as the constant process of materialisation of the ideology of humanitarianism. There is the materiality of the gendered human body, of those who need help and those who provide it. The gendered, embodied humans are the subjects who suffer and make sense of suffering; they are also the objects of treatments that the teams (i.e. also gendered, embodied humans) may offer. The MsF-site is trying to portrait - materialise once more through digital means - the all-pervading materiality of suffering and humanitarian, medical help, using texts and images, reports, blogs, digital newsletters and journals and also linking to other web-sides on Facebook and Instagram, to radio and TV programs.


In this work, a terahertz sensor based on a cross dipole frequency selective surface is analyzed and experimentally tested. The sensing structure is optimized for operation at the fundamental band-stop resonance near 0.7 THz and characterized under normal and oblique incidence. The sensing performance as a function of the incidence angle and the wave polarization is evaluated with good agreement between simulations and measurements. It is shown that a figure of merit for the proposed sensor can be enhanced from 0.2 up to 0.6 due to switching from normal to oblique excitation, which yields the maximum performance for TM polarization at the incidence angle of 70°. The presented results demonstrate a wide angle operation regime in THz sensing that opens up an alternative approach in improving capabilities of sensing devices.


Sexual politics in the Renaissance dictated a strong opposition to any kind of homoerotic attachments, or discussion thereof, forcing Renaissance poets and playwrights to find other means of representing these connections. In this compelling and intriguing work, Stephen Guy-Bray argues that early modern authors used renditions of Theocritan and Virgilian pastoral, as well as epic poetry, for the exploration and the allusive presentation of homoerotic and homosocial themes. Drawing on the poetry and plays by such authors as Castiglione, the Earl of Surrey, Milton, Spenser, Barnfield, William Browne, Shakespeare, and Beaumont and Fletcher, Guy-Bray investigates how some authors used these classical models to represent homoeroticism, while others found the inherent homoeroticism of these poems to be problematic. Discussing both content and form of Renaissance and Classical literature, Guy-Bray's work engages in an important and frequently heated debate about the history of homoeroticism as well as questions of literary history and the interpretation of texts.


The current menstrual movement calls for overcoming the cultural stigma associated with menstruation, achieving "menstrual equity," and ending "period poverty." The stigma the movement seeks to address is that menstruation is seen as taboo, unclean, and impure. The movement's aims are twofold: First, it wants to increase awareness of menstruation and remove discrimination against those who menstruate, thus achieving menstrual equity. Second, it intends to provide greater access to menstrual hygiene products ("MHPs"), particularly for homeless and lower income people, thus eliminating period poverty. To achieve these goals, the movement is advocating to legislatively eliminate the "tampon tax" and increase access to MHPs in prisons, homeless shelters, and schools. It also supports lawsuits challenging the constitutionality of the tampon tax. Advocates view these legal changes as instrumental in furthering the goals of equity and access to MHPs that underlie the movement. This Essay discusses whether the two major legislative changes the movement advocates—repeal of the tampon tax and providing MHPs in schools for free—will actually achieve the movement's goals. The Essay begins by explaining how these legal changes, in theory, are meant to address menstrual equity and period poverty. It then explores the operational limits to, and expressive benefits of, these legal proposals. The Essay concludes that the expressive function of demanding these legal changes, and sometimes achieving them, plays a more significant role than the laws' actual operation in reaching the movement's goals.


To optimize the comfort (visual and thermal) and energy savings, the topics related to solar protection are getting more and more important. Indeed it is necessary to use the maximum of the sun in winter (avoiding the glare) and to minimize transmitted radiation during the hot season in order to avoid the space overheating. The double-skin facades (DSF) satisfy these two goals. An exhaustive modelling of DSF has been realised. The studied DSF are equipped with Venetian blinds and provided with mechanical ventilation. The impact of this facade on the indoor environment in terms of visual and thermal ambiance is analysed. Our global simulation model is represented by a set of sub models, each characterising thermal behaviour of the DSF, natural and artificial lighting. All these simulation models are coupled with an office zone and then implemented in SIMBAD (HVAC Simulator for Building and Devices). Detailed descriptions of these implemented models as well the validation procedures are presented in the paper.


The term "learning design" is gaining momentum in the e-learning literature as a concept for supporting academics to model and share teaching practice. Its definition and composition is evolving, and as such, there is currently no standard mode of representation for learning designs in education. Instead, there are several emerging learning design representations with different perspectives about their purpose. This chapter explores these issues and presents a summary of the current discourse about learning designs. The aim of this chapter is to address a gap in the literature by comparing and contrasting six learning design representations. The chapter discusses the research conducted to date about learning design representations and concludes by proposing a pathway for further research.


Open science, a practice in which the entirety of a research project is made available, via the Internet, using a variety of tools and techniques, is an emerging approach to the conduct of science. The hypothesis that open science therefore has the potential to support public engagement with science has been investigated through the research outlined in this thesis. The research has also sought to address the related issues of how, or if, the science thus made available therefore needs to be translated and narrated for public consumption and how, or if, open science can or should develop as a deep and bidirectional mode of engagement between members of the public and researchers.
The research employed two methods of qualitative enquiry (interviews and case studies) and one method of quantitative enquiry (a web-based questionnaire survey) to enable appropriate validation through methodological triangulation. The interview participants, recruited through purposive sampling, took part in semi-structured interviews, which were analysed using a grounded theory approach. Three exploratory case studies were selected using a descriptive decision matrix. The case studies were conducted using a mixture of ethnographic observations of events, meetings and other situations involving personal contact, documentary studies of project websites, available materials and so on, and interviews with project members. Finally, a web-based survey was carried out to establish baseline data on the scientific and cultural background, motivations and opinions of visitors to open science project websites.
The results suggest that although the principle of openness is widely accepted, there are a number of issues to be addressed as research is opened up to a wider public. These include the development of shared praxis between researchers and members of the public, for example understanding of data analysis techniques and how to support judgements of validity and trustworthiness of information. Problems of data ownership are also foreseen, both in terms of proprietary and intellectual property rights, the maintenance of reputation, precedence and priority and in how to value non-professional and non-traditional contributions to research.
The results also indicate that open science has the credentials to claim a place in the ranks of public engagement strategies. This research indicates that open science is not yet a tightly-defined practice; as a flexible, innovative methodology, it offers a variety of routes for engagement for both scientists and members of the public. For scientists, it could be a mode for communication in which the communicative activities are part of daily scientific work. For members of the public, it could enable them to follow a project in which they are interested, offering direct access to data, publications and other research outputs. For both communities, it could support the development and sustaining of public participation in research, and enable dialogue and collaboration throughout the scientific process, from defining the research question, to research design, to experiment, to analysis.


Dominant frequency characteristics of acoustic emission (AE) from single-edge-notched (SEN) glass fiber aluminum laminates (GFAL) under tensile loads were analyzed in relation to fracture mechanisms. The first and second peak frequencies expressed the characteristic changes of fracture processes in SEN-GFAL specimens such as macro-crack propagation and/or delamination between aluminum and fiber layers. On the basis of the above frequency analysis and of the fracture observation with ultrasonic through-scan and various microscopes, characteristic models for crack propagation of SEN-GFAL was proposed according to various orientations of fiber layer.


This paper investigates the effects of duty cycle on improvement of pressure distribution above a NLF0414 airfoil using the plasma actuators. Three dielectric barrier discharges as the plasma actuators are flush mounted on airfoil surface in different positions in order to improve pressure at post-stall angle of attacks. The experiments were performed at ReC = 7.5 × 105 and the post-stall angles of attacks. The main aim of the related experiments in this paper is to better understand how duty cycles must be applied in order to have the most effective conditions for different excitation frequencies and different angles of attack. Results show that the plasma actuators in unsteady excitations are more effective in lower duty cycles on low excitation frequencies, but the lower duty cycles loss their effectiveness on higher excitation frequencies.


The use of green roofs is increasing in many countries because of their benefits to the urban environment. However, only a few plant selection studies for green roofs have been carried out and little information on plant performance on roof environments is available in the UK climate. As a result, only a limited range of plants such as Sedum spp. are commonly used for green roofs, especially for shallow substrate green roofs. Therefore, this thesis investigates plant selection for extensive green roofs in the UK.

The work in this thesis focused on the following objectives.
(1) To identify groups of plants that have potential for use on green roofs, with regard to tolerance of rooftop conditions,
(2) To investigate establishment methods for diverse, attractive, flowering green roof vegetation, with attention to seedling techniques,
(3) To test survival and performance of a selected range of species and cultivars from the previously identified groups (annuals and geophytes) at different substrate depths, irrigation regimes and covering plants treatments,
(4) To compare green roof performance (water management and drought tolerance) between different vegetation types and drought tolerance with different percentages of organic matter in the growing substrate,
(5) To investigate the performance of plants as well as their aesthetic appeal, seasonal interest over time and what is required for maintenance (weed Invasion and self-seeding).

The direct sowing of perennial and grass mixtures, the use of annual plant seed mixtures and the use of geophytes could be useful techniques for the quick establishment, long flowering, their beautiful colour of flowers, cost effectiveness and providing food resources for biodiversity in an extensive green roof. Germination testing revealed that many perennial and grasses which have potential for use in extensive green roofs did not require chilling for germination and had high germination rates in spring. The results suggested that spring might be the best season for direct sowing on the roofs for quick establishment.

In annual plant meadows, it was shown that a low sowing density could be better than high density to reduce competition, resulting in good individual plant growth when there was sufficient watering. However, a high sowing density was recommended for the dry conditions. For geophytes, growth, survival rate, regeneration and flowering were more successful in a deeper substrate rather than a shallow substrate. The vegetation cover by Sedum seemed to work as a protection layer and the overall emergence was encouraged with Sedum, especially in the shallow substrate.

In the study of amount of water runoff from different vegetation types, it was shown that grass species may be the most effective for reduction of water runoff followed by forbs and sedums. The size and structure of plants significantly influenced the amount of water runoff, however, species richness did not affect the amount of water runoff significantly. In the study of the drought tolerance of different vegetation types, the forbs and grasses groups used in this study reached permanent wilting point after two to three weeks of no watering and they were required to be watered once a week to maintain their visually attractive forms. Sedum spp. were able to survive well and maintain good visual quality even after three weeks of no watering. There was a tendency that overall survival increased as species richness increased. The diversity in vegetation reduced the vigor potential dominant species. In the investigation of the relationship between percentage of organic matter of substrate and plant growth, it was concluded that about 10% (about 14% in total) of organic matter was the best because the plants showed stable growth regardless of the watering regime. In wet conditions, increased organic matter resulted in increased growth, whereas in the dry conditions, increased organic matter did not result in increased growth.

In the investigation of plant growth and performance on an existing semi-extensive green roof it was shown that it is possible to create low-input green roofs which have long flowering and seasonal interest with a little maintenance and supplemental irrigation if appropriate plants were chosen. Plant species diversity might affect overall flowering succession and dynamic change and planting density might affect interaction between plants.

In areas of high plant species diversity, there were more possibilities to have a longer flowering term, more seasonal interest and dynamic change than low plant species diversity. In areas of low planting density, individual plants generally produced the better growth than those in high planting density. Moreover, plant growth had more interaction between species in the higher planting density. The tendency was observed that the plants had better growth in the NE and the SE. Also, longer flower duration was shown in the NW whereas many species started flower from the SE. The combination of low plant species diversity and high planting density appeared to reduce weeds effectively. Using a gravel mulch in the shallow substrate could reduce the number of weeds significantly.


Abstract:  The analysis of nutritional value and selected traits of technological suitability of milk was performed on the basis of the available literature. This analysis concerned various animal species used for dairy purposes (cattle, buffalo, goats, sheep, camels, donkeys, and horses). It has been stated that a considerable diversity exists in the analyzed parameters and traits of milk, which results in various directions of milk utilization. Cow milk accounts for more than 80% of world milk production. It is the most universal raw material for processing, which is reflected in the broadest spectrum of manufactured products. Sheep and buffalo milk, regarding their high content of protein, including casein, and fat, make a very good raw material for processing, especially cheesemaking. Donkey and horse milk have the most comparable protein composition to human milk (low content of casein, lack of αs1-casein fraction and β-lactoglobulin, and high content of lysozyme). Donkey milk is additionally characterized by a fatty acid profile distinctive from milk of other analyzed animal species. Camel milk also has valuable nutritional properties as it contains a high proportion of antibacterial substances and 30 times higher concentration of vitamin C in comparison to cow milk. The composition of goat milk allows using it as the raw material for dairy processing and also to some extent as a therapeutical product (low content or lack of αs1-casein).


Various reconstructive surgeries were performed in 21 patients because of intraoperative injuries of the urinary tracts. In 4 patients trauma of the ureter and urinary bladder was associated with obstetric operations (Cesarean section, hysterectomy). In 13 cases injury of the ureter was the consequence of hysterectomy due to cancer (4), hysteromyoma (4), prolapses of the uterus (1), extirpation of the stump of the uterine cervix (1), electrocoagulation of the ureter (2) and adnexectomy (1). In 4 patients ligation of the ureter complicated surgery for cancer of the sigmoid colon (1) and rectum (1), diverticular disease of the colon (1) and portal hepatic cirrhosis with severe ascites. Surgical policy was organ-saving. Only in 3 patients with severe acute pyelonephritis surgical treatment was performed in two stages with preliminary nephrostomy. In the rest cases primary reconstructive surgeries were used. Reconstructive surgeries saved the kidney as a functioning organ.


This paper uses a new approach to measuring financial openness, highlighting interconnectedness in a network of financial flows. Applying an adapted version of eigenvector centrality, often used in network analysis, the new measure captures multidimensional and high-degree financial relations among countries. It provides a nuanced picture of financial integration and interconnectedness in the global and regional financial networks. The United Kingdom and the United States remain the 'core' in the global banking network, with all other countries scattered in the 'periphery'. The application of the new measure of financial integration to the empirical analysis reveals the nonlinear relationship between financial integration and output volatility.


Abstract This study aims to find building patches from pan-sharpened IKONOS imagery using two-class support vector machines (SVM) classification. In addition to original bands of the image, the normalized digital surface model, normalized difference vegetation index, and several texture measures (mean, variance, homogeneity, contrast, dissimilarity, entropy, second moment, and correlation) are also used in the classification. The study illustrates the performance of the binary SVM classification in building detection from IKONOS imagery. Moreover, the effect of additional bands in building detection is examined. The approach was tested in three test sites that are located in the Batikent district of Ankara, Turkey. The SVM classification provided quite accurate results with the building detection percentage (BDP) values in the range 81.27–96.26% and the quality percentage (QP) values in the range 41.01–74.83%. It was found that the usage of additional bands in SVM classification had a significant effect in building detection accuracy. When compared to results obtained using solely the original bands, the additional bands increased the accuracy up to 10.44% and 8.45% for BDP and QP, respectively.


We propose linear generalized disjunctive programming (GDP) models for the short-term scheduling problem of single stage batch plants with parallel units. Three different concepts of continuous-time representation are explored, immediate and general precedence, as well as multiple time grids. The linear GDP models are then reformulated using both big-M and convex hull reformulations, and the resulting mixed-integer linear programming models compared through the solution of a set of example problems. We show that two general precedence models from the literature can be derived using a big-M reformulation for a set of disjunctions and a convex hull reformulation for another. The best performer is, however, a multiple time grid model which can be derived from the convex hull reformulation followed by simple algebraic manipulations to eliminate the disaggregated variables and reduce the sets of constraints, thus leading to a more compact and efficient formulation.


The filamentous spoilage fungi in vegetables can lead to significant impact in food and economic loss. In order to overcome this problem, chemical fungicide has been implemented in vegetable farming and processing but it causes problems towards environment and food safety. Thus, the utilization of natural products such as plants extracts, which exhibit antimicrobial and antifungal activity, is more acceptable to solve this problem. The aim of this study is to investigate the antifungal activity of Boesenbergia rotunda extract against ten filamentous spoilage fungi isolated from five vegetables. The extract was used to treat fungal isolates from vegetables; CRb 002 (Penicillium sp.), CHa 009 (Aspergillus sp.), TMa 001 (Geotrichum sp.), TMa 002 (Aspergillus sp), ONb 001 (Aspergillus sp.), WBb 003 and WBb 004 (Fusarium sp.) WBb 007 (unidentified), WBb 008 (Aureobasidium sp.) and WBb 010 (Penicillium sp.). The results showed that the yield of the extract of B. rotunda using ethanol (95%) was 11.42% (w/v). The 10% of B. rotunda extract exhibited antifungal activities against ten filamentous fungi after 5 days treatment with growth reduction of 41.56%, 30.68%, 86.20%, 50.62%, 26.67%, 47.44%, 50.74%, 36.39%, 42.86%, and 39.39% for WBb 008, WBb 004, WBb 007, WBb 003, CRb 002, WBb 010, CHa 009, TMa 001, ONb 001, and TMa 002, respectively. B. rotunda extract showed highest antifungal activity against fungi isolated from winged bean (WBb 007) with percentage reduction in growth was 86.20%, while the lowest activity was against fungi isolated from the carrot (CRb 002) with 26.67% reduction in growth. Generally, the TPC of fungi in the vegetable samples were reduced after treatment with 5% of B. rotunda extract at 5 min and 10 min of exposure time. The results suggested that B. rotunda extract has high potential to become natural food preservative which can reduce the fungi spoilage of vegetables.


The share of agricultural sector in Gujarat's net domestic product has declined to less than one-fifth, indicating that the state economy is witnessing a structural transformation. Post-liberalization, cropping pattern has favoured wheat, cotton, spices, fruits, vegetables, floriculture and medicinal plants. Despite a secular decline in the share of agricultural sector and sharp fluctuations in its output and income, the decade of 2000s could mark a very high growth phase. Economywide gross domestic product had shown a structural break in 2002-03, giving credence to the notion that agricultural sector has been the driving force behind acceleration of the overall economic growth. After 2000-01, unprecedented increase in physical output and monetary value of crops has been attained. Adoption of high-yielding varieties of food crops and Bt cotton have been the main factors behind the revolutionary growth. However, factors responsible for fluctuations in output of these crops need a careful attention. Technological advancement needs to encompass a wider range of crops as to moderate negative deviations in output, and calls for a scientific approach to sustain the high growth trajectory.


We report the first case (to our knowledge) of malignant melanoma of amelanotic type arising from the mucosa of the middle ear. An 81-year-old man who presented with right hearing loss was diagnosed as having otitis media with effusion at an otolarygology clinic. Despite subsequent treatment, he developed otorrhea and otalgia. Furthermore, a granular mass was found in the pars flaccida of the tympanic membrane. A biopsy of the mass was performed, and the findings were suggestive of malignant melanoma. The disease was already in an advanced stage, because metastases were noted in the patient's lungs and liver. Although chemohormonal therapy was performed and was slightly effective in reducing the primary tumor, the patient died of acute renal failure. Autopsy confirmed the diagnosis of amelanotic melanoma of the middle ear.


Human NK cells and subsets of T cells or NKT cells express the orphan C-type lectin receptor CD161 (NKR-P1A) of unknown function. In contrast to rodents that possess several NKR-P1 genes coding for either activating or inhibitory receptors, the nature of signals delivered by the single human NKR-P1A receptor is still to be clarified. In this article, we show that the lectin-like transcript 1 (LLT1) molecule is a ligand for the CD161 receptor. Engagement of CD161 on NK cells with LLT1 expressed on target cells inhibited NK cell-mediated cytotoxicity and IFN- (cid:1) secretion. Conversely, LLT1/CD161 interaction in the presence of a TCR signal enhanced IFN- (cid:1) production by T cells. These findings identify a novel ligand/receptor pair that differentially regulate NK and T cell functions. The Journal of Immunology, 2005, 176: 7791–7795.